Comb

ABSTRACT

A very light and very strong comb provided with oppositely directed teeth of different spacing is constructed with alternate, longitudinally extending parts in relief and intaglio, which provides exceptional strength, and with teeth which compress and release the locks of hair as they are drawn through them.

I Umted States Patent l 13,568,688

[72] Inventor Robert J- Dobuski [56] References Cited 2] A l N Pa.UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 P 527,509 10/1894 Rheinberg 132/139 [22] FtledNov. 8, 1968 1,886,357 11/1932 Rugaber..... 132/139 [451 Patented 1 894832 1/1933 R b 132/124 [73] Assignee Vulcanized Rubber and PlasticsCompany 9 Mnrrisvme Pa 2,481,403 9/1949 D1Zazz0 132/124 3,057,36710/1962 Langley 132/161 Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene AssistantExaminerGregory E. McNeill Attorneys- Dale A. Bauer, John L. Seymour andBauer and Seymour 54 COMB ABSTRACT: A very hght and very strong combprov1ded w1th 7 claimssnrawing Figs oppositely directed teeth ofdifferent spacing is constructed US. (I 132/139 with alternate,longitudinally extending parts in relief and in- [51] Int. Cl A45d 24/04taglio, which provides exceptional strength, and with teeth [50] Fieldof Search 132/139, which compress and release the locks of hair as theyare drawn through them.

COM-E This invention relates to combs and to an improvement in theconstruction and manufacture of the comb described in US. Pat. No.1,886,357 to Rugaber.

The Rugaber comb had definite advantages of design but. it

was breakable and was made with sawn teeth: after the blank had beenmolded in the solid it was saw cut to produce the teeth. The teethprojected directly from the back and had parallel faces. Sharp edges andpoints were left by the saw, making smoothing operations necessary. Theroughfaces left by the saw at the base of the teeth were-points ofweakness leading to loss of teeth or breaking of the back. Shaping ofthe teeth to assist the stroke to liven the hair during combing was notpracticable.

it is an object of this invention to make a comb on the Rugaber design,stronger, more durable, with no cut surfaces, with teeth shaped forstrength and to assist in gathering and livening locks of hair, andwhich is unbreakable for all practical purposes in the uses for which itis intended.

The objects of the invention are accomplished by a comb of newstructural design, which has no raw or rough surfaces, which is farstronger than the Rugaber comb, all parts of which are efficientlycoordinated and interrelated for efficiency and durability. This hasbeen accomplished by a comb having a back extending from one comer ofthe comb-diagonally to the other corner, the center portion of the backhaving teeth projecting in=both directions and the end portions havingteeth projecting bppositely in one direction, ribs of cross sectionsmaller than the back extending along the back at the bases of theteeth, the teeth being integral-extensions of the ribs. in making thecomb the preferred process is by injection molding and the preferredmaterials are polystyrene or polypropylene. The problem of compositionarose because ofv the large number of rejections of combs forimperfection which occurred during the manufacturing process when usingrubber or organic plastics normally successful in coarse injectionmolding operations, but which could not satisfy the requirement thatevery part and line of the comb must be fully formed and perfect in themold.

The new comb involves a girder construction of back which makes itlighter and stronger, and .a tooth and back construction which greatlystrengthens the comb at the line of attachment of the back and theteeth. The teeth are of elongated diamond shape with rounded points andleading and following edges, providing a gap between adjacent teethwhich compresses the hair as it is drawn toward the short axes of thediamonds and then releases it as it passes therebeyond, gathering thehair in strands and increasing the effectiveness of the stroke and thelivening effect on the hair. There is also novelty in the proportions ofthe ports.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred model of the novelcomb:

P16. 1 is a side elevation of a full scale model;

FlG. 2 is a section on line A-A ofFlG. ll;

FIG. 3 is a section on line C-C ofFlG. l;-

FlG. l is a section on line 3-8 of FIG. 3 showing the cross section ofthe coarse teeth; and

HG. 5 is a section on a line equivalent to B-B through a fine tooth.

Referring now to the numbers of the drawings the back of the combextends diagonally through the teeth which project outwardly from it inopposite directions, the fine teeth projecting from one end and thecentral portion of the back and the coarse teeth projecting from theother end and the central portion of the back. The back terminates instuds ll, ll which have inner faces parallel to the teeth. The crosssection of the back is shown in FIG. 2 as an elongated oval having along and a short axis, the general conformation of which is convex.Concave grooves or flut'ings l2, 12 extend along that portion of theback from which extend the teeth. The central part of the back in itspreferred form thus has an equal number of alternating convex andconcave portions. This is a girder structure which reduces the weight ofthe comb and increases its strength. This structure provides what is ineffect a projecting rib 13 at the end of each long axis of the back, theteeth being developed out of the ribs.

The coarse teeth 14 and the fine teeth l5 are developed out of the ribs13 and preferably not out of the central convex part of the back. Theteeth are of elongated, diamond shape having along axis X and a shortaxis Y. The ends of the diamonds on the long axis are truncated andcurved as at M. The are of a circle is a satisfactory form for the toothedge but other smooth shapes can be adopted. This tooth shape provides arelatively wide gap for the gathering of locks of hair, and a narrowerpassage midway between the edges of the teeth, a structure which addsefi'iciency to the combing stroke as it gently compresses and releasesthe locks of hair, increasing the livening effect of the stroke. Theends of the teeth are rounded as indicated in FIG. 3 so that no portionof the comb presents harsh lines or broken surfaces.

The back of the comb at the ends, as indicated in FIG. 3, has only onepair of flutings, the back being finished opposite to the teeth in anyconvenient way such as a spade shape. The construction of the back asdescribed allows sufficient flexibility without permitting excessivebending. This may be understood in that a very flexible comb will benduntil too much effort is required to draw it through the hair. Thereverse curvature'of convex and concave surfaces establishes aresistance which is practically ideal and which is largely determined bythe spacing of the teeth.

In a preferred form of the invention there may be 36 coarse teeth of.054 inches short axis, and 37 spaces of .046 inches in a total space of3.646 inches. For fine teeth there may be 58 teeth of .034 inches and 59spaces of .028 inches in a total length of 3 .624 inches.

The teeth are extensions of the ribs 13 and do not enter, or enter onlypartially, the flutings which extend above the upper ends of the teethalong the back, it being deemed advisable to leave the flutings at leastpartly free.

The-comb is preferably made by injection molding but not allcompositions are useful for this purpose. The teeth are fine, theirsurfaces must be fully developed, and of polished aspect. They must bestrong and not subject to breaking by any normal use. To accomplish thiswith what could be called normal injection molding compositions isnotpractical, as the loss of combs from imperfect molding is tooextensive. As a consequence, a particular composition, or rather aparticular class of compositions, has been employed in this use.

The exposed parts of the ribs between the teeth are preferablycurvilinear, usually on a circular radius, which not only aids inlivening the hair but contributes to the perfection of the teeth duringmolding. The ribs are usually to be of less thickness than the body ofthe back but thicker than the grooves or flutings.

ln combing the hair the teeth select a lock as wide as the space betweenthe leading edges of the teeth, the locks are compressed mildly as theyprogress and are gradually released after they pass the short axes ofthe teeth, a stroking action which serves to draw oils into the hairfrom the scalp and to add luster. There are no notches or surfaces tocatch the hair and snarl it. The comb is of superior design andefficiency and it is readily made by injection molding.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of the present inventionmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments.

I claim:

1. A comb having a back extending from one corner of the comb diagonallyto the other corner, the center portion of the back having teethprojecting in both directions and the end portions having teethprojecting oppositely in one direction, ribs of cross section smallerthan the back extending along the back at the bases of the teeth, theteeth being integral extensions ofthe ribs.

2. A comb according to claim 1 in-which the ribs are subtended bygrooves which extend along the sides of 'the back.

3. A comb according to claim 2 in which the back of the comb has agenerally convex perimeter in cross section, the ribs being formed bygrooves in the nature of concave fluting.

4. A comb according to claim 1 in which the teeth have elongated diamondshapeand rounded edges when viewed in cross section, and which are widerat the groove than the thickness of the rib.

5. A comb according to claim 2 in which the bases of the teeth are widerthan the ribs from which they spring and leave at least a portion of thefluting unobstructed.

1. A comb having a back extending from one corner of the comb diagonallyto the other corner, the center portion of the back having teethprojecting in both directions and the end portions having teethprojecting oppositely in one direction, ribs of cross section smallerthan the back extending along the back at the bases of the teeth, theteeth being integral extensions of the ribs.
 2. A comb according toclaim 1 in which the ribs are subtended by grooves which extend alongthe sides of the back.
 3. A comb according to claim 2 in which the backof the comb has a generally convex perimeter in cross section, the ribsbeing formed by grooves in the nature of concave fluting.
 4. A combaccording to claim 1 in which the teeth have elongated diamond shape androunded edges when viewed in cross section, and which are wider at thegroove than the thickness of the rib.
 5. A comb according to claim 2 inwhich the bases of the teeth are wider than the ribs from which theyspring and leave at least a portion of the fluting unobstructed.
 6. Acomb according to claim 5 in which the greatest width of the short axisof the fine teeth is about .034 inches, the greatest width of the shortaxis of the large teeth is about .054 inches, and the greatest thicknessof the short axis of the back is slightly greater than the large axis ofthe teeth at the same point.
 7. A comb according to claim 4 in which theribs have smooth, convex, curved faces between the teeth.